Ancient Egyptians were obsessed by life and had an urge to ensure its perfect continuation. Cambridge is the go-to place for coffins illustrating how they did it

Few Egyptians were as scrupulously intent on having their job title correct at the time of their death as Nes-Amun, a priest who owned a set of incredibly beautiful coffins. One of them was sent for CT scanning last month, with radiologists at Addenbrooke Hospital – part of Cambridge University – reporting 3,000-year-old fingerprints inside, suggesting that craftsmen, working at workshops in Karnak, had to inscribe his new status as a supervisor of temple scribes over the top of the old coffins’ varnishes.

Even while he was still alive, Nes-Amun (real name Nespawershefyt) wanted to ensure he was remembered properly once he’d gone, although his funereal legacy was never likely to go unnoticed given that these coffins are golden yellow, covered from head to toe in bright hieroglyphs and adorned with pictures in reds, greens and blues.

They were one of the first gifts, in 1822, to Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam Museum, where a year later a seven-ton granite sarcophagus lid was presented to curators by Giovanni Belzoni, a prolific Italian explorer who managed to ship the tomb to the British Museum after dragging it ashore with the help of 130 men in a two-week feat of determination over sand and land.

“1822 was the year that Jean-François Champollion first announced his theories on the hieroglyphic script,” says Helen Strudwick, the co-curator of the museum’s new exhibition on death along the Nile, pointing to the birth of Egyptology.

Some parts of Nes-Amun’s coffins are held together through the work of 19th century ironmongers. “The inner coffin box is made up of a multitude of pieces of wood, including sections from at least one older coffin,” she says of the sarcophagus under scrutiny at the hospital.

“Evidence of re-use includes cuts across old dowel holes, patching to change the profile of the coffin sides and a number of places where old mortise holes have been filled in and new ones cut beside them.

“Wood was a precious commodity and the craftsmen were incredibly skilled at making these complex objects from sometimes unpromising starting materials. The radiographs and scans also reveal how people tried to restore or preserve the coffins in the past.

Coffin-makers made practice doodles on the underside of some of the boxes. They also undertook secret repairs under seemingly perfect finishes and fudged illustrations on the way to creating coffin paintings.

Curators have been able to identify the pigments and varnishes they used in decorations, with some of the loans coming from the British Museum and the Louvre. A live conservation area will also let visitors see the science behind the work as part of the exhibition.

Death on the Nile: Uncovering the Afterlife of Ancient Egypt is at the Fitzwilliam Museum until May 22 2016. Admission free.

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Three places to explore Egyptology in

Two Temple Place, LondonThe major new exhibition, Beyond Beauty: Transforming the Body in Ancient Egypt, not only explores the day-to-day routines of
ancient Egyptians, but also address the importance of appearance in the
afterlife. Until April 24 2016.

Egypt Centre, SwanseaThe largest collection of Egyptian antiquities in Wales. The museum
officially opened in September 1998, and has over 5,000 items in the
collection.

Weston Park, SheffieldBringing together 150 objects from animal and human mummies to ceramics
and jewellery, the current Secret Egypt exhibition invites visitors to explore a range of
fascinating archaeological evidence to revaluate what they understand
about this remarkable civilisation. Until April 10 2016.

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